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The Antarctic is melting even in the middle of subzero winter

Colin Harris / era-images / Alamy Stock Photo

THE average winter temperature on the Antarctic Peninsula is a chilly -15°C. Yet it has seen extensive surface melting during its long, dark winter.

When a wind blows over high mountains, the descending air can warm by several degrees. On the Antarctic Peninsula, this phenomenon – known as a föhn wind – can raise air temperature above zero. This was known to cause melting during summer but not in winter. Now a weather station, installed on the Larsen C ice shelf in 2015, has revealed that a quarter of surface melting …